DIY Round Ottoman

There are a number of tutorials out there on how to make your own ottoman/coffee table in a rectangular or square form. I haven’t seen many in the round variety, but that is exactly what I needed recently for a client and I’m happy to report it’s quite simple to turn this:

Step 1: Since you are making a square frame for your decorator table top to rest on top of you must make sure that two pieces are 16 1/2″ and two pieces are 18″ so that when they overlap you have a perfect square. Cut all pieces and lay them out first to make sure they line up properly. Do not screw anything in this step.

Step 2: In order to support the frame and have a sturdy base along with a place to add wheels (wheels are optional) you need to attach a 2″ x 3″ onto the edges of the 16 1/2″. Each edge of the 16 1/2″ sides will have a 2″ x 3″ flush mounted. You will then sandwich the 16 1/2″ sides in between the 18″ sides and screw together.

Step 3: If you do not want your ottoman to have wheels then skip this step. Please note that it will be lower than the average coffee table height if you do this. To remedy this add a thicker foam for the top or get a wider piece of wood for your frame. In order to make this step easier we marked the screw holes first and pre-drilled holes into the wood to prevent it from splitting.

Step 4: Place decorator top on the bottom and then center your square base on top of it aka casters up. In order to screw it together mark the edges of the 2″ x 3″ on the decorator table top as seen in picture below.

Note the blue lines in the image below. When you are marking the 2″ x 3″ corners you should also draw a perimeter around the outside of the square base (this will be used to realign the table top on the base once flipped right side up)

Now you can remove the square base and drill holes on the decorator top in the 2″ x 3″ markings that you just made.

Place the base on the ground with the casters on the floor, place the decorator top over the base and make sure it falls within the blue lines that were drawn around the outside perimiter (this will ensure your 2×3’s are under the holes you just drilled).

Screw the decorator top to the base using the holes you just drilled.

Step 5: Add foam base to table top and top with batting. I like to use high density foam when I’m doing ottomans that work double duty as coffee tables as well. We went with 3″ foam in order to have a finished product that fit the standard coffee table height of 18″-20″. I add the batting to the top in order to give it a more rounded finish. You can attach the foam and batting with spray adhesive or leave it as is. It will all stay together once the slipcover is attached.

Step 6: Finished! I’m not a seamstress so when it comes to slipcovers I always reach out to my workroom. If you don’t have a workroom, but you still want help I’ve always had luck with the gigs section in craigslist. I will place a gig for services I need and ask for quotes on making a slipcover along with portfolio pictures of their work and voila instant workroom.

I love little details so I added a pink accent in the piping and then decided I wanted a little bit of a peek a boo pink in the pleating as well.

So, who’s ready to tackle this on their own? The building of the piece from start of cutting the wood pieces to adding the layer of foam came in at around 1 and half hours. Not bad at all!

* All of our measurements are based on having a 28″ diameter round coffee table with wheels and 18″ in height.

Great tutorial! I just wanted to mention, if you create a square lip on the underside of round top that fits just inside the square base, then instead of screwing the top down it could lift off when you slip the upholstery off for sneaky storage!!

Looks great! I really like the idea of adding casters to make the ottoman easier to maneuver. In fact, little more than a week ago, I did just that in our living room with our oversized storage ottoman. I found some cool rollerblade casters. on Amazon for about $6 each. There was enough solid framework on the bottom of the ottoman to catch 3 of the 4 holes on each mounting plate and I used sturdy bolts with large washers to help even the load out and they’re rated for 200+ lbs capacity each.